A cheap home mask fit test? Trying out the Fit Tests 4 All OSHA-style home fit test kit.

Testing how you can professionally fit test your N95 masks at home at a reasonable price: The Fit Tests 4 All Home Fit Testing Kit

This video is about you. It's about how you can fit test your N95 and other respirator grade masks at home without paying a fortune using a qualitative home fit testing kit from Philip Neustrom's Fit Tests 4 All.

00:00 Introduction
01:14 What's in the Kit, and Instructions
06:12 Doing the Sensitivity Test
11:03 Doing the Fit Test Exercises
11:27 Wrap Up

Genuine N95s, KN95s, KF94s, FFP2s and other certified respirators have awesome filter media. But you only get the full benefit of that filter media if the air you're breathing in goes through it. If the air goes around the filter, under the seal of your mask, you're not getting the full protection the filter media can offer.

Without fit testing the main metric we have for how well a mask fits is how comfortable it is. The other metric we have is if we can feel any leaks. Sometimes we can feel leaks if they are big or if they are concentrated in a small area, which makes the leaking air have a higher velocity we can feel changing the temperature of our skin. But if it's a leak that's diffused over a wide area, such as over the entire seal of a mask, we're less likely to feel it because of the slower velocity.

If someone tells you that mask doesn't fit you because you haven't had a fit test that's not true. A fit test doesn't magically make your mask fit. The fit of a mask that hasn't been fit tested on you is just unknown. It could fit great, or it could fit poorly.

Fit testing largely tells you which masks fit you well, and which don't, so you can choose the one that's best for you. It can also help you learn how to adjust your mask as best as possible for a better seal – and that's what we mean by "fit", mean how well a mask seals on your face to keep unfiltered air from getting in the mask underneath the seal.

The type of test in the kit uses tiny aerosol particles that you can taste if they get in your mask. They can't get through the filter, so if they get inside your mask that means they leaked under the seal and your mask does not fit you well.

Some caveats:

This is a light duty kit for home use. The included nano mister and cardboard testing enclosure may not last as long as the nebulizers and hoods included in commercial kit. However, you can get nano misters on Amazon if you need a replacement, and you can use the included alternate enclosure, a large plastic bag, if needed (don't use the plastic bag alone since it is a possible suffocation hazard).

If you are allergic to quaternary ammonium compound (quats), such as the disinfectant in Clorox Wipes and many other disinfectants, do not use a fit testing kit such as this one that uses Bitrex (denatonium benzoate) which is also a quaternary compound.

If you can't taste Bitrex you will need to try a different challenge agent, saccharine, which is not included. If you can't taste Saccharine you will need to get a test using a PortaCount fit testing machine.

—

A quick note about some names. Philip has named his website “fittests4all.com”. I co-admin a Discord server called "Fit Testing For All – Fit Testing Community". We both came up with the names independently based on the Reddit forum for respirators called masks4all. Our sites are not directly related other than through inspiration from the Reddit sub name and our shared interest and wanting fit testing to be available to as many people as possible.

You can check out the Reddit sub here:

  / masks4all  

---

This is not sponsored – I bought my kit – I just think the kit is a very useful tool that can help a lot of people at a price that's more affordable than commercial kits.

---

I have details about making your own kit if this one is sold out over at Reddit:

  / checking_out_the_only_cheap_home_mask_fit_...  

---

Fit tests 4 all home fit testing kit (availability is sometimes limited):

https://fittests4all.bigcartel.com/pr...

Kit instructions:

https://fittests4all.com/v2.0/

About Philip Neustrom

https://fittests4all.bigcartel.com/about

----

#Respirator #FitTest #PPE #OSHA #Covid #kanro #opensource

Made possible by a grant by Kanro.

All of my Kanro tagged content has my copyright dedicated to the public domain.

The copyright of content I quote or include by reference remains that of the original copyright owner.